French weekly magazine review 10 July 2016

France's Socialist former prime minister Michel Rocard dominates the magazines this weekend, with many of the weeklies running tributes to the politician who died on 2 July in Paris.

DR

The right-wing l’Express hails Michel Rocard as intelligent and a visionary but adds that the theoretician of the "second left" never succeeded in getting elected by the whole French people.

He did, nevertheless, leave a political heritage.

His intellect was superior to his electoral success as his judgement on many matters often turned out to be accurate, the magazine says. Rocard always told the truth to the French without understanding that you also need to inspire a few dreams in order to gain votes.

L’Express features an interview with Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron, who explains his view of what Rocardism brought to politics.

“He was committed, an activist,” Macron says. “He was more concerned with action and by transformation in society than by political geography.”

Rocard's rivalry with Mitterrand

Left-wing Marianne recalls its final interview with Rocard, which it describes as taking place during the 11th hour of his life when he was already extremely ill with cancer.

Struggling to breathe, Marianne says, Rocard managed to get his animosity towards former president François Mitterrand off his chest.

“If it’s necessary to identify the killer of intellectual socialism, he’s called François Mitterrand,” Rocard gasps in reference to the man Marianne says poisoned the former prime minister’s political career.

“It’s dreadful,” Rocard explains, summoning all his strength to speak to Marianne. “We’re living with the consequences of his contempt, not only for the economy but also for long-term thinking. It's enough to make you want to shoot yourself!”

Rocard a 'giant' of the left

Rocard's legacy is honoured in l’Obs this weekend, too.

It writes that the left lost a “giant” on 2 July. Showering Rocard with accolades, l’Obs doesn’t forget to mention, however, that the social reformer never managed to become president during his life-long rivalry with Mitterrand.

The left-wing magazine fills its pages with article after article on Rocard – a 40-page special, no less. There's piece by the French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, a timeline of Rocard’s political career, photos of Rocard’s personal life and analyses of Rocard’s involvement in the political events that defined his life – from the war in Algeria to the French economy.

The front cover shows a black-and-white photograph of Rocard dressed in a suit with a cigarette in his mouth and a smile on his face.

France's unchanging political line-up

Marianne’s main cover story takes a look at the candidates lining up ahead of next year's elections.

“Still the same,” is the headline. Just like in 2012, the 2017 presidentials will be a battle between the usual suspects. Marianne calls it a French curse. Whereas new political movements and figures seem to emerge out of the political landscape of other west European countries, in France it’s always the same faces.

Marianne says it’s a phenomenon that can be summed up by the fact that the politican being hailed as the “new man” in politics by certain forgetful media, actually entered the game in the early 80s and served as prime minister 20 years ago. Alain Juppé is also the current favourite in the opinion polls.

Portrait of a Scottish rebel

Right-wing Le Point also gives its view of Michel Rocard. A leftist who became a social-democrat, Rochard was the most popular man on the left in France before 1981.

Le Point also features a “portrait of a rebel” in the form of Nicola Sturgeon – the Scottish first minister who wants to remain in Europe “at any price”. Sturgeon is painted as “the future of Scotland” - no matter what.

Conservative minister Michel Gove’s description of Sturgeon as the “most dangerous woman in the United Kingdom” is put into perspective by Le Point which remarks that Gove is a man well-versed in danger, having recently tried to kill off his political allies David Cameron and Boris Johnson in his bid to become the next British prime minister.

Le Point tells its readers that Sturgeon is in fact a “major threat” to the existence of the United Kingdom now that Brexit has given her a mandate to call for a second referendum on Scotland's independence.